Action Reaction
by baka deshi
Summary: [Complete] Response to the Tsukimineshrine challenge. Cerberus, Clow, and Yue on a spring day.


Warnings in effect: Hints of Clow + Yue, and a bit of Cerberus Behaving Badly. Also, severe sugar alert. (But seriously…if you can't deal with the shounen-ai, get out of the pool ^_~) 

A/N: This is a challenge fic for the LJ community Tsukimineshrine. The challenge: "Beliefs"  
The Rules:  
Think of one belief, some principle that you hold to be true, and illustrate it.

And away we go! 

~_~_~_~_~_~ 

It is a hot day outside, and if it were any more humid it could have been truly miserable...the kind of day meant for wet June, not cheerful, breezy April. It is still hot though, and even the birds have silenced their voices and started to doze on this lazy, sleepy day in the middle of spring. 

It is _particularly_ hot if one is wearing fur, and that is exactly what Cerberus is stuck with: big, wirey hairs that cling to his back and keep the sun in. He would love to start shedding soon, but chronologically it is still far too early, so he stretches his belly out upon the cool grass and tries to ignore the unseasonable heat. If there is one thing about this cat-form he can be glad of, it is the feline propensity for falling asleep even in the most adverse of circumstances. He doesn't need to live through discomfort if he doesn't wish to, and today it seems easier just to close his eyes and let it all slip away. 

Still, the fur is awfully warm. 

It is also itchy, if it gets out of place. He grunts and sits up again, licking at a contrary patch of shoulder to make the fur lay down again. He has to be careful to take care of it like this, or he will wake up to the most unpleasant sensation of being unclean. Yue, on the other hand, does not have any of these problems, and for that the lion is decidedly jealous. He looks up and sticks his tongue out at his counterpart up on the veranda, idly wishing that _he_ were covered in skin. Still, Yue must be somewhat uncomfortable. He is trying to hide in what little shade they have here on the lee side of the house, and his thick silver wings are curled around him like armor against the sun. 

Clow is standing there also, and he is holding his staff across his hip--a discrete, physical barrier that is the only thing separating him from the Moon Guardian. Cerberus watches them with interest, yellow eyes flicking back and forth between his master and brother. They are debating something, it seems, though he cannot hear what at this distance. It is a strange argument though, because neither of them are paying attention to it; their lips are moving, but their faces are not reacting to the words. They just keep looking at each other, staring at each other, and their jaws flap on mindlessly, disconnected from their brains. He idly wonders if they are even talking at all...or if they are simply babbling to fill the space. 

Look. Pause. Look away. Action, reaction; a delicate dance. Yue has always been slightly far-sighted, Cerberus knows, and he keeps drifting backwards away from their master, no doubt to see better. Clow is quite near-sighted, and he's moving forward, trying to keep Yue in focus. They both need their glasses, the lion thinks peevishly, though their strange, halting dance is amusing to watch. He swishes his tail gratefully, glad for the distraction, and grins to himself as his master trips over the end of his own staff. Even the sun seems cooler now that he's found something to laugh at, and his shoulder itch has entirely gone away. 

Look. Squint. Lean forward. 

Clow reaches up to touch his nose and blinks in confusion--he is pushing up his non-existent glasses out of habit. It is quite silly-looking, and Cerberus thanks his lucky stars that he was created with perfect vision. He supposes that Clow will correct Yue's problem in time, though admittedly there are more important things to be worrying about--like Yue's leaking magic, or his tendency to tip over under the weight of his wings. Still, the lion knows that their master can no more bear to leave Yue with a flaw than he himself can walk away from dinner before dessert is through. Clow favors Yue, has always favored Yue, and it is simply something they live with. When those two remember to live, that is. 

Look. Blink. Drift backwards...Uh-oh. 

Yue pauses at the edge of the shadows, halting his unconscious retreat. He has backed himself out into the sunshine, and the sudden confusion on his face is priceless. He is also looking concerned. Cerberus knows from experience that his compatriot burns easily, and he can all but see the wheels turning inside the other Guardian's head. Clow has noticed too, and he is calling for a card (Shadow, Cerberus thinks)----but Yue has already made his choice, and he slips back into the cover of the shadows...and into the circle of Clow's outstretched arms. 

Action, reaction; cause and effect. 

Clow releases him a few minutes later, though Cerberus can tell he doesn't really want to. It is written in the way he clutches at Yue's shirt sleeves, the anguished way his face crinkles. Uncomfortable, because he is entirely too comfortable; Cerberus knows that apologetic half-smile well. And Yue relinquishes _his_ hold only reluctantly, hovering anxiously next to their master. There is something complex and human going on between them, and the lion can only blink, completely unable to understand. For one long moment they simply stare at each other, when they _should_ be touching... 

...then they step apart and start talking, and the whole thing starts all over again, as if nothing had ever happened. 

Look. pause. Look away. 

To hell with this, Cerberus thinks indignantly, and rises to his feet. There is more than one way to skin a cat, and he is not made for this kind of idle observation. His whole life has been about action / reaction, and he has little patience for thinking about things. He takes to the air and charges up through the second-story window, searching for a pair of small, lacquered boxes that Clow keeps in the library. 

They are already to the edge of the veranda by the time the lion returns with his prize, still trying to pretend that everything is normal. Cerberus lands on the far end and hunkers down low, considering. It is hopeless to pretend that he can slink up to them undetected-Yue's hearing is too sharp for that-but he can certainly take them by surprise. Yue has his hand on Clow's shoulder now, and from the look of it their master isn't sure whether to continuing leaning forward or pull away... 

Action. 

_Re_action. 

Yue springs forward and pushes Clow behind him, wings fanning reflexively out to shield his master. He is strictly business now, and his lavender eyes are hard and horrible, frightening even to Cerberus. It is too late to stop the leap though, and the lion collides squarely into Yue's chest, propelling them both backwards and into their master. He flares out his wings and traps them beneath him, then opens his mouth and drops both boxes squarely onto Clow's chest. 

"There!" he admonishes, whipping his wings back with a flourish. "Thought you two could use these." 

Clow laughs and opens his glasses-case as best he can manage, extracting his bifocals with his free hand. His other arm is full of Yue, and neither seems terribly eager to rectify the situation. He notices with a small twinge of jealousy that Clow is actually holding the Moon Guardian to him, keeping their bodies tangled. But this too is part of the reaction, the natural consequence of his action. Without thoughts to come between them, they simply go together like this. It is annoying but expected, and he can no more begrudge them this than he can resent the birds for singing. He slides off and prepares to let them be, at least for a little while; content with having had at least some small effect on his universe... 

Then a soft voice rings out behind him, halting his retreat. 

"Wait. Cerberus..." 

Yue is peering at him through his own pair of boxy spectacles and looking decidedly mischievous. 

It is already too late, but he makes one desperate attempt to brace himself before he is tackled and thrust off the porch. 

~_~_~_~_~_~ 

They chase each other wildly for the next several minutes, startling the birds awake; laughing and tumbling and biting and kicking and tearing deep patches out of the lawn. Action, reaction, cause and effect, and Cerberus simply loses himself in the simple act of chasing and being chased. This is what feels right with the world, simply doing and feeling, and they tumble around and over and into each other endlessly until they can't remember who started what, or who's punishing whom. 

They finally collapse in a heap by the garden, unable to do much more than mouth insults at each other. Yue's glasses are hanging crooked across his nose, and Cerberus leans over and nudges them gently, trying to push them up. It doesn't work--actually, it makes the problem worse--but Yue rolls over and grins anyway, bopping him softly with a tired wing. 

Clow comes to them then, shaking his head at their folly, but Cerberus knows from the smile on his master's face that they are already forgiven. He goes to Yue first but turns to embrace Cerberus second, running his strong hands along the lion's flanks and bringing them up to scratch behind his ears. 

Cerberus purrs. It is still hot out, and his fur is mussed in every direction imaginable, but that has all been forgotten in the sheer act of _living_. He flops over on the grass and looks up at the sky, an endless sea of blue on an April afternoon. 

On a clear day like this, you could look out and see forever. 

~_~_~_~_~_~ 

The belief(s):   
  
1) Life is good, and things work out. Sometimes, you have to stop thinking and just remember to feel.   
  
2) Action / reaction. Everything has a natural cause and effect.   
  
3) On a clear day, you can see forever.   
  
4) Yue with glasses = adorable.   
  



End file.
